Plenty of thanks to report

Our Thanksgiving dinner was a a huge success. We had planned for 60 people with the thought that we could have 50 or 70. It turns out we had at least 72 guests that we can remember. Guests included students and some of their friends, all of our instructors and their family members, the families of two students who were visiting for the week, instructors from our affiliated Yucatecan universities where advanced language students take classes, internship and service learning community partners, former language assistants, and a former student and her family who were in town. George Ann even came this year which I consider a major sign of healing. Perhaps my favorite guests were the entire staff of the pilates studio where a number of students take classes.

We served a traditional meal, but tradition ended with the arrival of the mariachi band and the salsa dance marathon that followed. The pilates instructors provided lessons to those with two left feet. All of the guests from the US commented that their next Thanksgiving dinner will be dull and boring in comparison.

Pictured below are Veronica and Eduardo who were language assistants in Pella last year where they experienced their first Thanksgiving. They are good friends of the current group of students and have been extremely helpful in making their experiences memorable.



Pictured here are some of the US visitors. We had tables set up in the main house and also in our outdoor classroom.

Sofia was our youngest guest by far. She is the daughter of our anthropology professor. She danced until she fell asleep.

Part of the kitchen staff without whom none of this would have been possible.